In 2018, Florence And The Machine released ‘High As Hope,’ which secured the second spot on the US charts upon its debut. The album’s second single, ‘Hunger,’ focused on lead singer Florence Welch’s struggles with an eating disorder and addiction during her teenage years, which she explained in a chat with The Guardian.
Talking to the magazine that year, Welch revealed her ‘imaginative’ and ‘fearful’ nature in childhood as the source of these problems. Saying that she believed in ghosts and werewolves at the time, the singer explained:
“I learned ways to manage that terror – drink, drugs, controlling food. It was like a renaissance of childhood, a toddler’s self-destruction let loose in a person with grown-up impulses.”
These fears stretched into the Florence And The Machine vocalist’s adulthood. She recalled waking up to a white dress hanging above her during her stay at the Chateau Marmont in LA and went on:
“Then suddenly, I was in the bathroom, screaming. Was it sleep paralysis? I don’t know how I got to the bathroom.”
In fact, according to the 2018 interview, Welch overcame her fear of the dark during the period before the debut of ‘Hunger,’ as she said:
“I was a nightmare – I cried all the way through ‘Avengers: Infinity War.'”
The singer also told The Guardian that her addiction started around the same time as her psychological issues. She mentioned:
“That’s when the drinking and the partying exploded as a way to hide from it. I was drunk a lot of the time, on extra dirty Martinis – my way of drinking three shots at once. I was never interested in a nice glass of wine.”
In other interviews, Welch revealed having a hard time coming to terms with her struggles. In fact, during one of these chats, she admitted to writing ‘Hunger’ and other tracks with the intention of keeping them to herself.
Still, the vocalist reflected on her problems in her songs throughout the years while also saying sobriety gave her ‘a level of creative freedom.’